Sunday, October 17, 2010

Few things cause more involvement, passion and zeal within a religious context than sex. While the Catholic Church in Spain generally remained perfectly calm during almost forty years of Franco’s systematic oppression of most of the most basic human rights, it immediately initiated demonstrations with hundreds of thousands of believers the very moment a democratically elected government suggested legalization of same-sex marriages.

Religion prohibits and orders sex, condemns and blesses, punishes and rewards. The gender of your sex partner, your marital status, the colour of your skin, your religion or caste are all factors that can lead you to redemption or perdition. Welcome to the sexual universe of religion.

While Christian teenage girls go to balls where they promise God that they will relinquish sex until they are married, Buddhist monks call attention to gay sex as a holy mystery. There is no simple key to the relation between sex and religion. While the sexual religious debate in Norway is centred on gay people’s place in church, others ask whether there should be death penalty for hetero sex, whether promiscuity leads to hurricanes and nuclear war, whether God condemns marriage between black and white and why some religious sex rules are emphasized while others are forgotten.

In SEX AND RELIGION, the author takes a closer look at the different religions’ attitude towards straight sex and gay sex, sex racism and daemon sex, duty sex and abstinence, oral sex, anal sex, divorce and bigamy. The book also covers what the religions say about the consequences of different types of sex, how sex is used ritually and notions of sex beyond the human existence.

The Worker’s Party Candidate for President in Brasil, Dilma, just reversed her stand on GLBT rights (marriage) and abortion to please the Evangelicals / Catholics… the 3rd runner up (with 25% of the vote) was a wacky Sarah Palinesque evangelical the PT threw out for her homophobia) its causing all hell to break out on blogs and lists in Brasil. The PT has been at the forefront of GLBT rights in Brasil, and now the more moderate candidate is the progressive one?

The other Candidate Serra (Democratic Socialist) has promised to sign a gay marriage bill…

It’s like an upside down teaparty in Brasil. They really are modern now, it seems they have learned to play the GLBT and evangelical cards. I keep telling folks… the world does not need another USA.

After Prop 8 here, I have a deep distrust (if not prejudice, the Buddhist are helping me sand off the hatred) towards Baha’is, Mormons, Evangelicals and the Catholic Church (individual members not so much, but institutions yes). The Buddhist meditation is working, but I have a lot of work to go to develop a sense of compassion for these bigots…